THE IRON GRAIL

by Robert Holdstock

0-7432-2077-3

302pp/£17.99/2002

The Iron Grail is a follow-up to Robert
Holdstock's novel Celtika, which combined
the Celtic legend of Merlin with the Greek mythology surrounding Jason and
the Argonauts. The Iron Grail continues the story several centuries
later, although with many of the same characters as well as a new cast of
supporting characters.

Holdstock uses mythic language throughout the
book which has the strength of capturing the feel he is attempting to
achieve, but also has a tendency to distant the reader from the
action. Holdstock's use of language contributes to a more
lackadaisical feel to the novel, rather than the in-your-face action so
common in many epic fantasies. Because of this the story takes a while to
get started and it takes a while for the reader to fully be grabbed by the
novel.

Holdstock is able to get away with this pace
because The Iron Grail is not merely an epic novel, although it is,
it is also a novel of family. Mostly the family of Jason, the
Argonaut, but also the relationships of Merlin. And this is not the
Nigel Terry Merlin of "Excalibur" or the Merlin presented by T.H.
White in The Once and Future King, but a Merlin who has a mysticism
all his own and a tie to the people and the land that Holdstock imbues with
the sense that it is a necessary part of Merlin's character, even if most
authors don't seem to understand it.

Perhaps the real strength of Holdstock's
writing in The Iron Grail is the manner in which he seemlessly
combines the Hellenic Jason myth with the Celtic legend of Merlin.
Just as the Celts and the Greeks inhabited the same world, Holdstock is able
to combine their legends and magic in a way which does not seem obvious, or
functional, but makes it work within the context of his story.

Taken with Celtika,
the first novel of "The Merlin Codex," it seems clear that
Holdsotck eventually intends to introduce the elements of the more
traditional Arthurian myths into this world. The Iron Grail
does begin the process, but in ways which are not entirely evident or
expected. Characters introduced in the book may very well become the
Arthurian heroes in the final novel, The Broken Kings, although that
is mere supposition and Holdstock, who has always shown an interest in
mythological archetypes, could easily take his characters and their
situations into an entirely different and unexpected direction.